Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Freshwater Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) - Low Risk

Species that are considered low risk present a minimal risk of invasiveness because the climate where they are established is sufficiently different from the United States climate AND there is no evidence of invasiveness globally.

Freshwater Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) is native to river basins the northern region of South America, primarily the Amazon River Basin. Limited information is available on P. scalare in the wild, yet it is a popular aquarium fish. The history of invasiveness is low. If the trade volume from October 1992 (127,534 individuals; Chapman et al. 1994) is extrapolated across the years since then, it amounts to over 27 million individuals in trade in just under 30 years. That number would only account for importation to the United States since late 1992. P. scalare is in trade internationally and has been imported to the United States since at least 1972. Introductions have been recorded but only one of the records (Suriname) indicates that it is ‘probably established’, the others are either not established or unknown. It should be noted that Suriname is surrounded by the native range of this species. The climate match was very low for the contiguous United States. The only areas where medium match could be found was in southern Florida and in small pockets along the Gulf Coast. The certainty of assessment is medium due to the source of trade information being grey literature and not peer-reviewed. The overall risk of assessment for Pterophyllum scalare is low.